Category: News & Announcements

SAVE THE DATE! Marvels & Monsters opens October 12!

Emily Leventhal Leave a comment

Wu_William_1_J_YellowClaw1_cover_021
Yellow Claw #1 (Atlas Comics, 1956) Credit: Yellow Claw #1 (October 1956), Marjean Magazine Corp. [Atlas].
With Comic-Con long over and summer superhero movie season coming to an end, are you looking for another pop culture fix? If so, search no more—Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986 opens October 12, 2013 at JANM!

Through a selection of images from comic books representing four turbulent decades, Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986 assembles a team of xenophobic archetypes to illustrate the roots of Asian misrepresentation in pop culture. Curated by Jeff Yang, Marvels & Monsters places these genre-spanning archetypes—the Guru, the Brain, the Temptress, the Manipulator, the Alien, the Kamikaze, the Brute, and the Lotus Blossom—into a historical framework and then follows up with a discourse between current Asian American creators.

View the most striking examples of these archetypes alongside contemporary Asian American graphic novels and interactive installations through February 9, 2014. This exhibition is a collaboration between the A/P/A Institute at NYU and the NYU Fales Library & Special Collections.

For more information about the exhibition, visit: janm.org/marvels-monsters

*****

Don’t miss out on two FREE events to mark the opening of Marvels & Monsters!

Preview Reception
Thursday, October 10th • 6PM – 9:30PM
FREE & open to the public!
Join us for a special preview of Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics with curator Jeff Yang. Hosted by the JANM Young Professionals Network.

Target FREE Family Saturdays: Zap! Pow! Bam!
Saturday, October 12th • 11AM – 4PM
Free all day!
Celebrate the opening of Marvels & Monsters at our comics-themed Target Day. Check janm.org/target for the schedule.

A Conversation with Lela Lee
Saturday, October 19th • 2PM
Lela Lee, author and artist of the comic book series Angry Little Girls will discuss her comics and their impact on Asian Americans and beyond. There will be an exclusive, members-only Meet & Greet with Lela at 1PM—stay tuned for details!

4th Annual Japanese Heritage Night at the NY Mets Citi Field

Vicky Murakami-Tsuda Leave a comment

600992_306121469475999_1939075912_n

If you’re in the New York area, the New York Mets will be having their 4th Annual Japanese Heritage Night on Wednesday, August 28. The Mets will be playing the Philadelphia Phillies.

There will be a special Japanese Heritage Night pre-game show that begins at 6:30pm featuring the Japanese Folk Dance Institute, the Japanese Men’s Choir, taiko and fue master Kaoru Watanabe, and Spirit Award presentations to important members of our community.

Look for fun Japanese activities and games throughout the evening at the special Japanese Heritage Night tables!

A portion of the proceeds of all ticket sales made through the special JHN ticket window at mets.com/japan will be given to the Japanese-American Association’s, JAA Committee on Aging Issues which is an umbrella organization comprised of various New York City area institutions and health care professionals that are involved in caring for senior citizens in the Japanese and Japanese-American Community.

Buy tickets for seating in one the specially designated Japanese Heritage Night sections available at mets.com/japan.

Seats in three price categories will be grouped together:
• Baseline Box Silver $63
• Pepsi Porch $37
• Promenade Reserved $23

Blocks of seats must be purchased in the same transaction. Organizations that sell more than 25 tickets can have their name displayed on the Mets scoreboard.

Visit the Facebook page at: Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field 2013 for updates and images from past JHN events.

The Japanese American National Museum is pleased to support this event as a Participating Organization. JANM President/CEO Greg Kimura will be attending, so if you see him, say “Hi!”

Highlights from Natsumatsuri

Emily Leventhal Leave a comment

IMG_5317

One of our special visitors...she's been coming to JANM events for over seven years!
One of our special visitors. She’s been coming to JANM events for over seven years!

Wow! We had such an incredible time at this year’s Natsumatsuri Family Festival on August 10, 2013. Nearly 4,000 guests came to enjoy a day full of cultural performances, demonstrations, activities, and crafts. A big thank you to everyone who made it out (and extra kudos to those who came from as far away as Bakersfield and Frazier Park—that’s a whole lot of driving!).

Take a look through this event recap and see if you can spot yourself!

_34A5740
Screenprinting kaeru origami and taiko totes!

This year, we added a few new perks to thank our Members and Courtyard Kids. Museum members were able to use special “fast pass” lines for some of our most popular activities, including the yukata dress-up and the screenprinted tote bags. Members also got prime seats at our Aratani Central Hall performances and demonstrations. To all of our members who came out for Natsumatsuri, thanks again for your support!

yukata 3

_34A5939
Japanese mariachi Roger del Norte, performs for the crowd.

Speaking of Central Hall events, we had a day jam-packed with great performances! Roger del Norte and Lupita Infante stole the show with a Japanese-Spanish mariachi duet, accompanied by the band MEXICAPAN. It was standing room only for Roger and Lupita, and the crowds didn’t let up for the L.A. Matsuri Taiko performance that finished up the day.

DSC_0017
JANM President/CEO G.W. Kimura with the visiting courts.

Long before that, we kicked the day off with a visit from the Nikkei courts of San Francisco, Honolulu, and Seattle. The queens and princesses came by for a meet n’ greet with JANM President/CEO G.W. Kimura, followed by a tour of our Common Ground: The Heart of Community exhibition from our knowledgeable docents.

DSC_0066
A visitor and his mom work on their wacky paper hat.

As you probably noticed, this year’s Natsumatsuri was all about celebrating summer with some old and new traditions! From learning to play taiko drums with volunteer Hal Keimi to listening to Rev. Bill Briones of Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple explain the history of Obon in both Japan and the United States, we went back to the roots of traditional Japanese festivals. (The wacky paper hats craft is a much-loved tradition of our own!)

_34A5774

DSC_0085
What’s your fortune? One visitor is about to find out!

We’re big believers in interactive activities fun at JANM. This year, we invited visitors to make self-portraits and fans upstairs, while we once again hosted the “What Are You?” photo activity and omikuji fortunetelling downstairs. Traditional Obon dancing lessons and airbrush tattoos were also big hits.

What was your favorite part of the day? See below for more photos!

Thanks to our wonderful volunteer photographers for documenting the day: Russell Kitagawa, Nobuyuki Okada, Richard Watanabe, Tsuneo Takasugi, Shoji Tokumasa, Richard Murakami, June Aoki, Caroline Jung, and Daryl Kobayashi.

Shizu Saldamando Artist Talk & Workshop on August 24

Emily Leventhal Leave a comment
CARM’S CREW (2009) Shizu Saldamando Gold leaf and oil on wood. Jo Willems and Karen O’Brien. Photograph by Michael Underwood. © Shizu Saldamando
CARM’S CREW (2009) by Shizu Saldamando
Gold leaf and oil on wood. Jo Willems and Karen O’Brien. Photograph by Michael Underwood. © Shizu Saldamando

 

Interested in an afternoon spent learning with a fantastic Los Angeles contemporary artist? Join us on Saturday, August 24, at 2:00pm (free with Museum admission) to see the world of Shizu Saldamando through her own eyes with an artist talk and portrait workshop. Shizu is known for her unique portraits that draw inspiration from her Asian and Mexican heritage.

During the talk, Shizu will discuss her series Stay Gold, currently hanging as part of the Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter exhibition on view at JANM through September 22, 2013. Her drawings and paintings begin as snapshots taken with a cheap point-and-shoot and are then stripped of context and redrawn. Through portraits of her often-unsuspecting friends—taken at parties and informal gatherings—Shizu gives the viewer an insider’s glimpse into a youthful world of freedom and shifting, malleable identity.

In addition to her contribution to Portraiture Now, Shizu has recently worked on Art Intersections: Asian-Latino Pop-Up Museum, hosted by the Smithsonian in downtown Silver Springs, MD. As a curator for the second day of the pop-up—working alongside Eric Nakamura of Giant Robot (another familiar face at JANM)—Shizu projected artwork representing the Asian-Latino connection onto public surfaces.

Learn more about Shizu in this KCET article and video.

Conference Recap—Bainbridge Island Bus Tour

Emily Leventhal 1 Comment

IMG_9545

A big thank you to everyone who came to Seattle for the 2013 National Conference over the 4th of July weekend! We had a great time and learned a ton, and we hoped you did too.

One big hit from the Conference was the tour of Bainbridge Island. The first generation of Japanese Americans came to the island in 1883 and settled down, opening businesses (including the Suyematsu farm, the oldest continually working farm on the island) and starting families. They remained on Bainbridge until the Japanese American forced removal and incarceration during World War II. In 1942, Bainbridge residents were among the first to be taken to the concentration camps. Today, the island is the home of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, which opened in 2011.

IMG_9524
Group photo on the ferry ride over. It was a little windy…
DSCF1548
Lilly Kodama points out a photo of herself from the 1942 forced removal.
CIMG1307
Listening to a presentation at the Suyematsu and Bentryn Family Farms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more about one Japanese American family’s history on Bainbridge Island in Wayne Nakata’s Discover Nikkei article, Honoring my Issei and Nisei Ancestors. Nakata shared his story at the tour’s Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School luncheon.

Here are some photos from the bus tour of five key Island landmarks—the Exclusion Memorial, Bainbridge Gardens, Suyematsu Farm, Woodward Middle School, and Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School. Find more photos on our Facebook page.

See if you can spot yourself or a friend!

Photos by: Tracy Kumono, Bob Moriguchi, June Aoki, Midori Uyeda & Richard Murakami

IMG_9539
Visiting Woodward MS for a welcome & presentation.
IMG_9574
Paul Takemoto and family pose in front of the Exclusion Memorial.
IMG_1665
Memorial committee president Clarence Moriwaki presents.
IMG_9588
Visitors examining the Memorial.
IMG_9563
Walking down the path at the Suyematsu and Bentryn Family farms.
IMG_9548
Touring the original farm house on the Suyematsu Farm.

 

 

image_2539
Tour-goers picking out a sweet treat to bring home!
image_2458
June Aoki pauses to photograph  plants at Bainbridge Gardens.
image_2438
Visitors admire the greenery at Bainbridge Gardens.
image_2360
The group listens to speakers at the Sonoji Sakai school luncheon.
image_2369
Kay Nakao shares a memory at the Sakai school luncheon.
image_2264
Visitors admire posters on the walls at the Sakai school.

 

 

 

Commemorating 25 Years of the Civil Liberties Act

Allyson Nakamoto Leave a comment

Gift of Norman Y. Mineta, Japanese American National Museum (96.370.16A)Gift of Norman Y. Mineta, Japanese American National Museum (96.370.16A)

There is a lot happening at JANM today, but we first wanted to take some time to remember that August 10, 1988 is the day that President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act. This Act offered an apology and granted redress and reparations to the over 110,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II.

The signing of the Civil Liberties Act was the result of a lot of hard work from many, many individuals and groups around the nation. The government’s formal acknowledgement of the unjust incarceration remains a major milestone in the history of not just the Japanese American community, but within the history of the United States.

To reflect upon this event, last month JANM hosted a national conference in Seattle themed, Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity. A modified version of one of the panel sessions that took place in Seattle will also be happening today in Little Tokyo! If you have a chance, please drop by the DISKovery Center this afternoon to see selected video clips related to the Civil Liberties Act, including the powerful testimonials from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Interment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings that took place in Los Angeles. These free screenings are being put together by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and a full schedule is available here.

Hope that you’re able to take a moment today to reflect on the Civil Liberties Act and the impact that it (and World War II) had on the lives of so many. And thank you to all of those who—in ways big and small—worked to ensure that the United States is taking steps to becoming “a more perfect union.”

 

P.S. We are slowly making our way through the many photos from the conference and will be sharing more online soon!

Congratulations! “Best Museum Café” – Chado Tea Room

cchurch Leave a comment

When is the last time that you stopped by for lunch or a little afternoon pick-me-up in the Chado Tea Room? Dubbed “Best Museum Café” by Los Angeles Magazine (August 2013), Chado is a hidden gem here at JANM. Los Angeles Magazine recommends the smoked-tea egg salad and the warm scones, but you can’t go wrong with the Waldorf or St. Pierre salads. At just $8 – $11 for a salad, you can’t find a better place for a bit of elegance and civility in the middle of your day.

Perhaps you haven’t been here since your friend’s shower or birthday party? If it was outside on the garden patio and your group shared freshly brewed tea (there’s 300 varieties from which to choose), cakes, and tea sandwiches, then it was sure to have been an afternoon to remember.

Come drop by Tuesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. for that light lunch or perfect cup of tea. Couple it with a long or quick visit to JANM and nourish both your body and soul. If you’re a current member, make sure to show your JANM membership card for a 10% discount!

If you are looking to make a day of it and immerse yourself in tea culture, be sure to attend the upcoming Los Angeles International Tea Festival (September 28-29, 2013) held here at JANM and organized by Chado. Exhibitors will offer tastings, talks, shows, and ceremonies. Tickets are on sale ($15) at teafestivalla.com, with proceeds benefiting JANM and its mission.

Come savor the best of LA – at the “Best Museum Café” and at the Japanese American National Museum.

Chado_JANM_Inside2Chado Downtown
Inside the Terasaki Garden Café at the Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hours: 11:00am – 6:00 pm, Tuesday – Sunday
For Catering, Afternoon Tea or Party Reservations,
Please Call: (213) 258-2531
www.chadotea.com

Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90012
Hours: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, Tuesday – Sunday
Phone: (213) 625-0414
www.janm.org

I Want the Wide American Earth Opening Party

Emily Leventhal Leave a comment
JANM-WideAmericanEarth-1a35013v
Japanese American laborers at Tule Lake War Relocation Center, Tule Lake, California.
Photo credit: Library of Congress

Opening Party
Friday, September 13
6:30PM-10PM
FREE!

Whether you rep the 626, can’t get enough of boba, or just really love Asian Pacific American history, come out to the opening party for I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story!

The opening party will have loads of great entertainment and treats. YouTube comedy and music stars The Fung Brothers and DANakaDAN will be performing live, along with music from DJ Tony. We will also be debuting a new two-person show, Our American Voice. The show, presented in partnership with East West Players, explores diverse stories of Asian Pacific Americans. And if you get peckish between performances, head on over to the Mighty Boba Truck for a delicious drink!

Through a Smithsonian traveling display of 30 banners of poignant text, photographs, and art, I Want the Wide American Earth takes a sweeping look at how Asian Pacific Americans have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history.

Check out the exhibition page for more info.

 

(Video from: The Fung Brothers)

Thanks to the Smithsonian and exhibition sponsor W.K. Kellogg Foundation; public programs sponsors: MetLife Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission; and media sponsors: Angry Asian Man, KSCI-TV LA-18, and The Rafu Shimpo.

Natsumatsuri: Yukata

Emily Leventhal Leave a comment
800px-Girls_in_kimonos
Photo: Chris Gladis

What better way to get into the spirit of summer festivals than with some new duds? Try on a yukata with the help of Suehiro Kimono Agency and get your photo taken at our Natsumatsuri Family Festival this weekend on Saturday, August 10!

Yukata are traditional Japanese garments for both men and women. Unlike kimono, they are worn for casual occasions, especially during the summer for special events such as obon or firework displays. They are unlined and made of cotton—making them nice and cool for those long, hot days.

In Heian-era Japan, court nobles wore linen yukata after bathing, a practice later adopted by the public with the popularization of public baths. Today, they are often brightly colored with fun patterns such as florals or geometric designs. Many young women coordinate their yukata color with that of their obi, or sash—some even wearing a more transparent obi on top for decoration. Some go all out and also wear geta, or traditional wooden clogs, and a kanzashi, a cute hair ornament.

2013 Natsumatsuri Family Festival
FREE ALL DAY!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
11AM – 5PM

2PM – 5PM: Try on a yukata and have your picture taken!
Suehiro Kimono Agency will dress you in a yukata so you can have a special picture to take home! Yukata are traditional light Japanese garments worn during the summer to keep cool.

For full schedule of activities: janm.org/natsumatsuri2013